Labels for LifeLabels for Life will give tips for organizing your life, home and office.

Photo by Transguyjay
Families know that it is summer camp time. Children look forward to this time and even parents look forward to it as a time when their children will develop new skills and make some new friends and just have some fun.

Whether your child goes away to camp or to a local camp, the “camp experience” involves great organization on the part of the camper and the family. It is so important that you get organized for your child ahead of time. Try our camp organization tips so your child will have a great summer.

1. When you register your child for camp – ask for the materials list. Many camps will mail it out as camp date gets closer, but most will provide it at your request earlier – which means you can get your shopping done earlier.
2. Labels in clothing are very important, especially for children attending a sleep-away camp. Add labels early – and remember if your child has a popular name and surname like Susan Smith to add their middle name too to avoid confusion.
3. Sending treats to sleep-away camp and day camp is a popular occurrence. Label snacks so campers know whose snacks are whose. Remember that many children today have peanut allergies – so don’t select snacks with peanuts in them.
4. Your child for sleep-away camp will have a large trunk to put all of their items in. Remember to put labels the actual trunk, both inside and outside so everyone knows whose trunk it is.
5. Many children are tempted to bring valuable items like a charm bracelet, favorite teddy bear or electronic devices to camp. This is often unwise as these items can become lost or sometimes “borrowed” by overeager campers. Sometimes these items are also hard to label – like a teddy bear or a piece of jewelry.
6. Give your child pre stamped stationary or postcards to write friends and family home while at sleep-away camp. Most sleep-away campers do have access to email. But many campers look forward to daily “mail call” and the best way to get mail is to send some of your own.

MaverickLabel.com They specialize in custom label printing and have cheap stickers and custom window decals for summer needs.

Good organization not only keeps a playroom neat, it is an opportunity to teach your children about their letters and spelling words. Many schools now adapt the organization habit of labeling storage boxes in nursery school classrooms with a label that has a picture and the word for what is inside. So a container with crayons would have a picture of crayons and the word “Crayons.”

Adapting this labeling technique for your young child’s playroom at home not only gives you a very well organized playroom, it also encourages a child to stretch their word and lettering skills. The more exposed they are to words and letters, the more they will start to use them!

Labels are easy to make and to find. The very best labels for your nursery child’s playroom at home are ones that are both colorful and durable.

Use words that are simple and very commonly found. As your child sees the word over and over, they will begin to acclimate the word with the toy or other plaything.

New Years Day has come and gone. Are your resolutions intact? Did you resolve to straighten out that garage? Never fear! Here are some handy organizers for that unruly garage.

Unless you’re having Closets Unlimited to the entire job, you can get great use out of the deep shelves available these days for your garage. They are available in two depths. There are even corner shelves to make the most use of those corners. The heavy duty castors are available separately.

Another handy organizer, especially for those who have a lot of small items rather that large bulky stuff to store are  filebox systems. An entire garage with assorted paraphernalia can be stored and labeled and handily accessed as the need arises. Be sure to buy labels for your boxes. These systems are very easy to put together as well.

Bike Rack

For special stuff such as golf and other sports other organizers are also available. For bikes, of course there are various systems of storage to keep them readily available and off the floor.  Handy racks are available to store a couple of huge water bottles and for the uber-organized gift-wrap organizers.

Golf club Organizer

With all such storage readily available your garage should be spruced up in no time flat!

Wouldn’t it be nice not to have piles of paper in heaps, in files, covering your desk, on your kitchen table? Weren’t we promised paperless offices years ago. Except for some very determined and organized people, few have been able to accomplish this.

Banks, credit card companies, online storage companies all encourage us to save trees, take advantage of the technology available, opt for ebills and actually establish paperless offices.

It is important to make a commitment to a paperless office. Then systematically one needs to opt for ebills. Some online paying systems make this very easy and painless. Once you’ve switched to ebills, it also helps to sign on for alerts by email. This can be customized so that you’re alerted as soon as your ebill is available, 5 or 9 days (say) before the due date or if the bill has not been paid online by the due date; and of course all of the above, if you choose. There is then the task of creating electronic folders on your computer for all your payees. The ebills can then go into the respective folders, all organized for the taxman. Many businesses that provide ebills have not yet furnished a means by which individuals can mark their ebills as paid. Ebills may be available in PDF form but anything you might want to add to it cannot then be saved unless you have the appropriate Adobe software yourself. You can usually take a snapshot of whatever you have filled in and paste it and save it in Word.

It would be wonderful to eliminate all tax forms: income, business, employer…….all! But we’re not there yet. Fortunately it’s coming. Even the IRS promises to have everything in electronic form soon.

Once we’ve made the commitment to ourselves to do this it will need a concerted effort to make sure paper is not generated for anything. All invoices would have to be sent via email. If you have a business, eventually you would need to roll out an online service where clients can have accounts and be able to deal with payments etc. online. There might be stray bills that still come via snail mail. But they would be so few and far between, it would become very easy to immediately file away in the appropriately custom label file in those very stylish file drawers that are now available.

That mad, morning scramble out the door sound familiar to you. It doesn’t have to be. Monday was chosen for a reason. You have extra hours on the weekend to make sure the next morning does not have to be frenetic.

Place a tote bag Sunday night with everything that needs to go out the door the next morning.

Stock up on dresses (of course, some tips are only targeted to the female of the species) so there are fewer separates to coordinate.

Have the next day’s fully accessorized outfit complete with jewelry in Ziploc bags hanging where it’s ready to reach Monday morning.

While you’re about it why not accessorize a week’s worth of outfits as well?

Organize your closet by color as well as category so everything is easy to locate.

Keep neutral shoes, hose and bags at hand to coordinate with simply everything.

Use a charging valet available to suit every pocket and taste. Organize the PDAs and/or cell phones of the entire household. Label each spot so the respective chargers can be identified. When you come home, or your phone needs charging, that’s where it’ll go and when you need it as you leave the house, that’s where you’ll find it……charged and waiting!.

Have a hook or a coat-rack where you can hang up the clothes that need to go to the laundry; so you can grab it as you head out the door. Now that’s thinking ahead!

There are those who collect their photos in shoe boxes (time to start labeling) and albums and those who go totally digital. They use digital cameras, store and share their photos electronically. Of course, if you’ve been collecting for over 30 years or inherited some family collections, you might have a combination of photographs in albums, photo boxes and some photographs stored digitally.

Another excellent alternative to traditional albums is scrapbooks. Scrapbooking as a hobby has become the craze for women of all ages, in all walks of life, with varying levels of skills and abilities. For those not very artistically inclined, there are various how-to sites that have easy step-by-step instructions that can walk one through this seemingly monumental task and come up with very fancy scrapbooks to make for oneself or to give away as gifts. Whatever the final outcome one desires, organization of those photos is a must. Storage could be temporary or permanent, depending on the final objective in mind.

If your photographs are tucked away in envelopes and those in turn, stacked together in shoe boxes, you may want to sort them according to your preference, either by date or events. You may have, for instance, a large number of photographs of Cousin May’s wedding, or Grandma’s 80^th birthday which was in fact a family reunion of sorts and so on. These would be wonderful choices for an album or scrapbooking project.

Go through them, envelope by envelope. Weed through them, toss out photos out of focus or overexposed. Toss out those you don’t really care for and don’t serve any other purpose either. This will pare down the amount of organizing and labeling you will eventually need to do. Store these in suitable envelopes marked according to year or event.

Depending on your current level of organization you might need to get albums, photoboxes, scrapbooking material, acid-free and PVC free envelopes, acid-free photo-safe pencil or pen (available at photo processors and art-supply stores) etc.

Albums: Choose a style of album that goes with the kind of photos you would like to put in them and that go with your décor. Then get a number of them. Albums lined up six or seven of a color or style look much better than a bunch of assorted albums stashed together. Older photographs that you’ve collected or inherited should be safely stored in acid-free, archival quality environments. Albums should be stored preferably upright on shelves away from direct sunlight or humidity. The ideal temperature for albums is 65^o to 70^o F with a 50% relative humidity level.

Photo boxes: For temporary or permanent storage, choose good looking matched boxes that can be stacked on your shelves and add to your décor. Remove the photographs from their old envelopes, separate the negatives for separate storage. Put photographs in archival quality envelopes, label them according to year or event. Label the negatives appropriately and set aside. Once you have matched stacks of photographs and negatives, the photographs can go in photo boxes and the negatives can be stored in a fire-safe box. Even if you lose all your photographs, albums etc. your precious negatives will be safe.

Help turn home office hell into divine order.

First separate and categorize the paperwork. Half the chaos occurs from not physically separating personal from professional. Next categorize each pile and store in manila file folders. This helps you deal with the paperwork in small bites. It wrests the control from the paperwork mess to you. Now you decide what you’ll work on. You don’t get hijacked by the nearest sighted due bill or renewal notice.

To physically segregate use extra shelving, filing cabinets and bins.

If your desk is a virtual catchall, free it up as well for its intended purpose. Sort all papers that you need, toss out that expired notice that seemed so important at the time. Maybe it was important, you just couldn’t lay your hands on it. File all paperwork in the folders created and store in accordance with its purpose, in filing cabinet, on shelf or bin. For instance, you can house all home expenses and bills to one side and business materials and invoices on the other.

Next create a system for inflow and outflow. One option: Mount an inexpensive wire-mesh file to the left of the desk. Use it to keep track of paper flowing back and forth from the office. Use the upper slot as your Inbox. Store three manila folders labeled clearly: BILLS, Bank Statements and Filing. Toss bills, bank statements and papers to file in the appropriate file folder. The lower slot is your Outbox. Similarly tuck in outgoing mail, notes, any URGENT to do messages right there where it can be seen easily. Never leave behind anything you need to take with you to meetings, when you errands, anytime you leave your house any more! Stow right under it a portable filing box (shown in the picture next to the desk on the floor). Toss into it whatever you need to carry with you as you leave your house. Voila! no more running back to pick up things left behind or postponing chores just because all essentials are not with you to complete your errand.

Consolidate, consolidate, consolidate. Are there home office paraphernalia strewn all over your abode. Corral them all right at hand near your desk. Books can be stored right on the new shelves. How-to manuals for your computer can go right there next to the books. Office supplies can be a dull lot. Inject some oomph by coordinating magazine holders, file boxes and flat boxes.

Use bulletin boards to keep track of the various areas in your life.

Things rarely used can be archived. A future blog will give detailed instructions as to how you can do this safely and securely. Children’s report cards, artwork etc. can be stored in plain sight. Use labeled boxes for these and other things like stationery, waivers, and other business paperwork. Various boxes can be neatly stacked right on the shelves providing both organization and decoration.

Supplies used on an everyday basis can go into open trays where they can be readily accessed. Another box, basket or tray can be used (such as the pink basket in the picture) to store materials for a special project.

There you have it! Order out of chaos, and pretty to boot!

Many automotive businesses can benefit from labels or decals. Also some business can market their business with automotive decals. There are so many options that you can choose from. They will increase your market or provide return customers. If you need a few ideas, keep reading and you’ll see just a few of the many things that can be done with automotive decals. After you have read these ideas you are sure to know what you want to represent your company or organization.

Vinyl Decals

Vinyl decals are a semi-permanent item that are very eye-catching and give a very professional look. These are frequently used by auto dealers to represent where the car was purchased. Many businesses can use this form of advertising. If you want to catch peoples’ eye this is a great way to do that. You can even have a logo made into the vinyl, which will help people remember you. Many people remember a logo better then a name, just a little tip.

Bumper Stickers

These are a popular and useful. Some of these are for personal beliefs or funny statements. They are also used by many non-profit organizations use them to get their name out for many to see and remember them. Businesses also use these to create repeat exposure. These can be fun and promotional all in one. You can consider getting bumper stickers printed in a variety of colors so that customers can chose a color that goes best with the color of their car, plus they will just enjoy having choices.

Oil Change

Auto shops can use oil change window stickers to remind their customers of when they need to return for their next oil change. It is a great idea to place your business name and contact information so they can call if they need to. This will remind them of your business if something else comes up where they can use your services.

Parking Permit

So many people use parking garages everyday now. By using a sort of sticker identification, you can reduce the amount of traffic backup a garage gets. These can be placed on the back of the rear view mirror or on the windshield. You can get parking permit stickers in a different color for every month so the attendant will easily know when the tag has expired and the customer needs to renew. Another good idea would be to place a number representing the year so there is no confusion as to when it was purchased. These can also be used for large apartment complexes that have a lot of tenants. They can indicate paid parking spots, or what area they are to park in.

Window Decals

These have a wide range of use. You can promote a business, a college, a sports team, or pretty much anything you want. These can be simple or more complex; what ever suits your purpose better. Window decals are also used to indicate that a car has a security system, the help prevent car theft.

Monica Ricci, professional organizer, categorizes people according to their work styles. Know your work style and you’ll know how to plan and organize your work life.

She categorizes people as:

• the planner
• the perfectionist
• the go-getter
• the procrastinator

The planner sees ahead and is very well organized, reliable and has a terrific work ethic. However, thinking ahead, s/he tend to horde lots of material in case of future necessity.

One modus operandi would be to create an accordion file, or two or three and loosely categorize and file away material with labels for each eventuality. Every now and then the planner then needs to briefly glance through the labels. Whatever is no longer useful, can then be purged.

The perfectionist, too, is very work oriented and motivated. They figure they must always do everything themselves so they can do it just so. However, this can become very overwhelming. The perfectionist needs to learn to check out others who can help them in their task, grow their trust in them and start gradually delegating first small portions of the work and then larger as time goes on. With big assignments they should be able to hire outside services who they have thus checked out over a period of time and start delegating, being able to supervise and monitor the entire project eventually.

The go-getter can attract projects and is invariably very involved with various people on a wide range of stuff. They often travel in the line of work. They may have a desktop, a laptop, many to-do lists. They need to develop a system through which they can always access all the scattered information. Technology comes rushing through for such individuals. There are many products on the market that helps go-getters access their computer from remote. The NomaDesk is one such which helps a go-getter access any number of computers once s/he is granted access to it by its owner. They can swoop in and use or share software and files on the accessed computer. They don’t need to travel with all the software they normally use on their notebook. For smaller workloads there are the handy flash-drives so readily available.

For the not-so techno-friendly there’s always the good old three-ring binder with all information appropriately labeled and easily accessed from anywhere.

Lastly, the procrastinator! The procrastinator always means to do everything. The question becomes when. It is as if Time is too abstract a concept for them. They never seem to fully grasp that, “Time and tide waits for no man……” They need to transform Time in a more concrete manner. Color coded planners can help them create a timeline in the here and now. It will help them create deadlines. Larger tasks can be broken up and have a series of smaller deadlines to meet.

Thus each work type can use their own means of organization that can serve them well and help them to not only achieve their goals but get less stressed out as well.

Do you shudder when tax-time comes? Do shoeboxes of bills and receipts confront you in April? Organize yourself for tax-time all year round.

Mom and Dad at Taxtime

All is not lost. There’s still time to get ready for April 2009 without getting flustered. You can do one better for 2009 records. At the very beginning of the year grab a file folder, duly label it Tax year 2009. In you pop those DMV bills that let you claim license fees on your 1040. If you have medical bills, prescription, flex or HSA claims, pop them in or better yet, have a separate sub-folder for them. An accordion file, subcategorized with appropriate labels, is another device for all your tax papers.

If you have a home office and who doesn’t these days, have a separate file for your mortgage bills. If you claim your home office on your personal income tax it’s a sound idea to have your mortgage bills readily available. Have you made charitable contributions? Those receipts should also be safely tucked away to claim your deductions. For small business home offices you might have other claims. Do you claim a percentage of your utility bills, landscaping and gardening and other such expenses? All this paperwork should also be ready at hand.

When February rolls around, the bank will send you your mortgage annual statements. 1099s will arrive daily in the mail. All your annual stock statements will be arriving. Immediately stock them away in your 1040 file. As soon as they are all there, you can easily start on your income tax return.

Once those returns are done, you can begin to relax. Maybe for once you can actually enjoy those April showers and flowers and Spring! There’s one more chore, however. If there are credit card statements and other expenses that you couldn’t take any deductions for, if you don’t need them for anything else, do shred and discard them. Returns from previous years and back-up paperwork for them can be archived and put away so they don’t clutter up your new filing system. If you follow these simple tips, when tax-time rolls around again, you will be less stressed. With no disorganization and chaos to deal with, come tax-time you will save time and tax-time will become less taxing!

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